Alness incidents lead to sex offender listing and ban on man approaching children
A heavily intoxicated 56-year-old Ross-shire man who approached three young girls with the offer of money and sweets to go home with him has been banned from being in the presence of any child under the age of 17 without permission.
The youngsters were aged two, three and five years old, lived in Alness and were accompanied by their parents when Stephen Ali came up to them in the High Street and Coul Park areas, stared and then spoke to them all.
The incidents on February 26 and May 1 last year were alarming, police were alerted and Ali was arrested. He has been on remand since then and appeared by video link to be sentenced by Sheriff Gary Aitken.
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Ali, who had a previous rape conviction, had earlier pleaded guilty to three charges of breach of the peace. The sheriff said he was taking "the preliminary view that there was a significant sexual element" which would mean the Easter Ross chef would be placed on the Sex Offender's Register.
Defence counsel Euan Dow tried to dissuade the sheriff from taking that action and argued against it again before his client was sentenced. He also resisted an application by fiscal depute Adele Gray to have a Sexual Harm Prevention Order slapped on Ali, who was very drunk at the time of the offences as he was drinking two bottles of whisky a day.
The advocate insisted: "He says he has no unhealthy interest in young children. He accepts his behaviour was alarming but he meant no harm to the children."
Sheriff Aitken asked: "If he has no recollection of events due to his consumption of alcohol, how can he say he knows what were or were not his intentions.
"I am entirely satisfied that in any objective view of the circumstances, including placing his arms around one girl and kissing her on the cheek, they disclose a significant sexual element."
He placed Ali on three years of social work supervision; ordered him to carry out 75 hours of unpaid work restricted due to his time in custody and instructed Ali to take part in a rehabilitation programme for sex offenders called ‘Moving forward to change’.
The sheriff rejected the application for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order but imposed a conduct requirement in the community payback order for Ali not to approach or communicate with children under the age of 17 without prior approval of his supervising officer.
Ali was also placed on the Sex Offender's Register.
Fiscal depute Alison Young previously told the court that Ali repeatedly made comments about the youngest girl's appearance, saying she was "beautiful" and offering her sweets in the presence of her mum.
Then in May this year, Mrs Young said Ali approached the three year old child in Coul Park while she was playing with bubbles.
"He wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her on the right cheek, saying 'come with me, you are mine now.' She ran away to her mum and hid behind her but Ali continued to stare at her and offered to buy her sweets. The mother took a photograph of him”, Mrs Young went on.
Sheriff Gary Aitken then heard of a second incident the same day on Alness's High Street where he stared at a five year old, and repeatedly asked her if she wanted to go home with him.
The court heard that police viewed CCTV and were able to trace and arrest Ali. Mrs Young added: "He was heavily intoxicated and denied doing it. But he said he couldn't remember but if he did it, it was only to play with them and he had no nefarious intentions."
